Lancaster daily intelligencer. [volume] (Lancaster, Pa.) 1864-1928, 1887-06-28
= Weekly Intslngencer
II caittdster 1rrRliuKsuke,
I.ANcAsTER. JUNE u. 1851.


~ city Of Philadelphia Is continually
|(ssod up by some project about its public
ItuGas. There Il no city in the country, or
II ~ world perhaps, that Is under such
0uatinual agitation from this cause. The
~ h that Philadelphia ID . attempting prize
~ ~ corporate plunderers, of whom a
GAolco brood has been raised in her rich
ootl. She has gas works and water works
s1nnk aSe I'll her own, that the enterprising
6ontlsmen who hold the political ownership
~ tho town have until lately been content
- manage for the share Of the profits that
.thsy could easily steal, but which Of late
,thsy have shown some ambition to capture
bodily.
Il The street. railways Of the town have
afforded . rich pasture to these people.
Thsy rot the use Of the streets for nothing
'snd gathered in six.cent fares until popu.
u revolution lately secured reduction to
- flvecen fares which prevail in all the
cne-hogse towns in the country.
Ths present conspiracy against the city
= IN rapid transit, and any number Of peo-
- Stand ready to accept the duty and the
1uoft Of providing it. The citizens appear
- look upon their propositions with dis
Aust. Taught by experience they fear to
Z - skinned, and even the name of John
Wanamaker at the head Of one syndicate
~ not proved sufficient to make it sweet
% the public. Mr.. Wanamaker Is great
sGore-keeper and great Methodist, but he
dos not seem to keep as good company in
his public enterprises as he finds in his
Sunday school. Messrs. Kemble, Widener
and Elkins, appear as his associates in
. rapid transit and they have sutficed to con.
denim 1t in the public eye; and may even
tend TO excite doubt as to the strict truth.
fulness OF all the Wanamaker advertise
i 1ents.
Il may be that the undertaking of these
Een is honester than it is suspected to he
and it Is at least true that q large part Of
the public opposition stirred up t
them comes from other interested
parties who want to enjoy the profit
Of the rapid transit business by elevated OF
under ground routes. There is company
: In Philadelphia that proposes to tunnel its
rtreets for double track railway which
viii bring the outly ing population rapidly to
Y tho centre, and merchandise right into the
q tho cellars of the stores on the great
thor0ughfares in the same cars that bring
II to this city. All the sewt rage and gas
water and electric conduits are to be taken
through these tunnels. The scheme is q
& magnificent one, and its projectors claim
\ that It will not be more costly to build
than IN elevate d railroad which has to pay
damages to property along which it passes.
Philadelphia has had mass meeting to
protest against the elevated and to boom
( the underground railroad and suddenly it
seems as though the tunnel people we're to
be given the chance they are clamoring
for. Mr.. Wanamaker's party draw out fol
the present and leave the rampant major
: ity Of its friends in councils in the lurch
By some 1t is said that they hav,
+ concluded that there Is no money in tn,
project - they see they will have to carry
Il out. But Mr.. Wanamaker, who may
not be suspected Of telling less than the
whole truth, says that they retire in defer
euce to the public sentiment that objects
to the elevated railroad.
After while Philadelphia will have citi
zsns 20 public spirited that they will only
need to get smell Of the breath of the
popular desire, to execute it. The mil
I lsnium Is coming to that town but not tn,
elevated railroad this summer.